Liebster Award + Update!

Hi friends!

This isn’t a typical post. But don’t worry, that clearly isn’t stopping me from posting pictures of food.

This past week, I was nominated by two awesome food bloggers, Gayle and Danielle, for a blogging award called the Liebster. Basically, I’m going to talk a lot about myself as well as answer questions asked by my nominators.

I love talking about myself getting to know people better within the food blogging community, so I’m excited!

A few random facts about me:

1. My name is pronounced May-daa. This isn’t exactly a fact, but it’s pretty important. I never thought I’d have much of an audience beyond my family and friends on this blog, but to all my new friends and readers, I realize my name isn’t exactly the easiest. If you’ve been mispronouncing it in your head, no worries! So has every substitute teacher I’ve ever encountered.
2. I’m an only child, but I’m not an only child. It makes sense, I swear. Basically, I’m the only human child in my household. But we have a dog, and that dog is as much my parents’ child as I am. I’m not exaggerating.
3. I really like ambient music. It helps me fall asleep and it’s the best music to listen to when studying, especially with a good set of headphones. Everyone should check out Loscil’s fourth album, Plume.
4. I’ve never had meat. I’m a vegan now, and I’ve been a vegetarian for my entire life. It makes animal-free diets easier, because I literally have no clue what I’m missing.
5. I have a mild phobia of commercial shopping mall complexes. This is definitely the weirdest fact on the list, but basically any strip mall/outlet mall situation stresses me out, but only if it’s really sunny outside. I’m strange.
6. My favorite scent is citrus. I’m obsessed with citrus anything: food, perfumes, body washes.
7. I have really terrible vision. My left eye is something like 20/250. For those of you who aren’t contacts/glasses people, that’s bad.
8. I want to study abroad in Morocco. If you know me personally, you’ve probably heard me talk about this, but I study French currently, and I want to study Arabic as well, so Marrakesh would be a dream.
9. I hate watermelon. I’m sorry, it’s just sugary water. I will not be swayed.
10. I slipped a disc in my back last summer. I was a 16-year-old with a 60-year-old person injury. It was a rough time.
11. My mom speaks five languages, give or take. This isn’t really about me, but I think it’s pretty awesome. She speaks English, Hindi, Tamil, Malyalam, and Bengali fluently, and can understand/get by speaking more!

Gayle’s questions for me:

1. Why did you start blogging? I started blogging mostly because I followed so many food blogs. As a vegan with a special diet, I figured that if my friends and family enjoyed what I was making, so would others with and without restricted diets!
2. What blogs do you follow regularly? Oh wow. Honestly, more than I can count. I follow quite a few blogs on Bloglovin, but there are even more that I love than are listed there!
3. What is your favorite quote/saying? It’s kind of sad, but mine is, “You remember the steps of the dance, but the music isn’t playing anymore. So there you are.” It’s from Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men and it reminds me to seize the moment and not miss opportunities.
4. Do you have any pets? If so, what kind/how many? I have a dog brother named Simba. He’s a six and a half year old Coton and he is my best friend.
5. What characteristic do you think is your best quality? I’m really independent and good at taking care of myself, so I know at least one thing I won’t have to worry about in the future is being responsible enough.
6. Who is your favorite musician/band? My favorite musician is without a doubt Ed Sheeran. I’m seeing him in concert in a little over a month and I’m freaking out already. I also love Lorde, Meiko, Feist, Gabrielle Aplin, Rosi Golan, Kina Grannis, Birdy, A Fine Frenzy, Ariana Grande, and of course, Beyoncé.
7. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? New York City.
8. What is your favorite meal? Any Mexican food. Nachos, enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos, fajitas, burritos… yum.
9. If there was a movie being made about your life, which actress would portray you? I’d like to say Emma Watson.
10. If you could have any job, what would it be? I seriously want to be an FBI agent.
11. What is your favorite season? Summer!

Danielle’s questions for me:

1. Why did you start blogging? See above 🙂
2. Have you ever traveled out of the country?  If so, where? Yes! I’ve been to India several times to sightsee, visit family, and dance. I also went to London and Paris the summer after 6th grade and totally didn’t appreciate it enough.
3. What’s your favorite food to eat? Mangos or avocado.
4. Do you have any pets?  If so, what kind? See above!
5. What’s your favorite sport? I’m not athletic at ALL, but I consider dancing a sport (as well as an art), and I’m a big dancer, so I’m going to go with dance.
6. What is your favorite food to cook/bake? I loooove baking brownies. Brownies have been my signature since I was allowed to bake on my own.
7. How would others describe you in one word? Apparently, “Ambitious”
8. What do you love most about blogging? Meeting other food bloggers and being part of the community is definitely the best part of blogging. It’s also nice to see yourself improve in the kitchen as well as photography-wise,
9. What’s your favorite restaurant to eat at? There’s a tex-mex joint in DC called Guapos and it is basically my life. They make everything there without cheese or sour cream if you ask and my family and I are basically regulars!
10. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? See above 🙂
11. What’s your dream job? Above I said FBI agent, but I’d also like to add food blogger/dancer down here because I’d honestly love to do any of those things!

Now it’s my turn to nominate a few of my faves:

• Consuelo @ Honey & Figs
• Alessandra @ The Foodie Teen
• Allison @ Clean Wellness
• Crystal @ Apples & Sparkle

Here are my questions for you!

1. If you could had to rename yourself, what would you choose?
2. What’s your favorite dessert?
3. What were your best/worst cooking experiences?
4. Do you have any siblings?
5. What’s your favorite day of the week and why?
6. If you could learn any language, what would it be?
7. How did you come up with your blog name?
8. If you were a kitchen utensil, which one would you be?
9. What’s your favorite book?
10. If you could live in era, which would you live in and why?
11. What kind of music do you listen to?

Before you head out…

I’ve had this blog for about a month and a half and it’s totally made my life a million times better. I’ve made so many new friends in the community and blogging has added something special to my life. Thanks a million to all my friends, family, and readers! 🙂

I’ve been thrilled to see some of my (iPhone!) photography making it to foodgawker, which you can see here.

As usual, you can find me via my social media buttons on the right and subscribe to receive e-mail updates.

If you have any questions or just want to talk, shoot me an email at medha[at]whiskandshout.com.

And if you still want to know more about me, then here you go.

Stay fabulous and happy summer!